Such systems typically include a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for condensing the refrigerant, an evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant, a discharge fluid line interconnecting the compressor and the condenser, a liquid fluid line interconnecting the evaporator and the condenser, a suction fluid line interconnecting the evaporator and the compressor, and a refrigerant leakage warning device for providing a refrigerant leakage warning signal. The refrigerant leakage warning device may comprise a sensor in the passenger compartment of the vehicle or inside the HVAC module downstream of the evaporator for sensing the presence of the refrigerant, e.g., an infrared gas sensor, or it may comprise a crash sensor, e.g., the sensor used to initiate the deployment of air bags.
Various refrigerant venting systems are known in the prior art and examples of same are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,918,475 and 5,660,051 to Sakakibara et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,657 to Murata et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,370,898 to Yamaguchi et al. however, there remains a need to effectively vent both the high and low (input and output) fluid lines connected to the evaporator.